A lion's share
by Ayumi2
Summary: My summary sux! But i promise that it's a wonderful story! What will happen if two people are stranded by snow? What will they do? It's a DM/HG fanfic! Pls R&R!!!
1. A lion's share

Chapter 1  
  
'For heaven's sake, Hermione! Stop being an old stick in the mud!' Lavender sighed impatiently. 'Name me one thing you have planned to do tonight that can't be put off tomorrow.'  
  
Hermione Granger refused to meet her room-mate's accusing gaze as she gathered the wrappings from her sandwich and the empty milk carton on to the canteen tray.  
  
'That isn't the point. You know how I feel about blind dates,' Hermione stated.  
  
"Percy can hardly be classified as a blind date. He's Ron's brother,' Lavender argued.  
  
Ronald Weasley was Lavender's fiancé, a likeable man, nut in Hermione's opinion, dull and unexciting. His one endearing quality was his devotion to Lavender, a love that he managed to show in a hundred different ways. Still, it was unlikely that Hermione would find his brothers company anymore stimulating that she found Ron's. He simply wasn't her type, although at twenty-three she was beginning to wonder if she had a type.  
  
'Why don't you ask Parvati instead?' Hermione suggested, referring to the girl that operated the switchboard.  
  
There was a derisive roundness to Lavender's sparkling brown eyes. 'Have you ever known Parvati to have a free hour on weekends? That girl has more men around her than a bunch of nude-bathing beauties,' her room- mate replied scornfully. 'She'd never have a Friday night open.'  
  
'You simply have to go tonight,' Lavender pleaded. "Ron only found out this morning that Percy was flying in to meet me. There isn't anyone else I can get on such short notice.'  
  
'He's coming in to meet you,' Hermione emphasized. 'Why don't the three of you just go somewhere for dinner?'  
  
'Percy is Ron's brother, not his uncle!' Lavender declared, rising to her feet and following Hermione as she left her table.  
  
Hermione glanced at her watch, 'Let's discuss it after work tonight,' she stalled. 'I have to get back to the office.'  
  
'I can't wait until five o'clock,' her room-mate ignored the hallway that branched to their right, the hallway that led to the computer department where Lavender worked, and followed Hermione into the sector of the private offices of Malfoy Construction. 'Ron is picking me up after work and we're going straight to O'Hare Field to meet Percy when he gets off his plane. I have to know now.'  
  
Hermione was backed into a corner and she knew it. Even as she held back her agreement, she knew she was going to give in to her friend's persuasions. She had no valid reason not to agree. Hermione prided herself on being practical and logical, which made her superstitious avoidance of blind dates seem childishly silly.  
  
Simply because she had met Harry Potter on a blind date four years ago and had fallen victim to his charm only to discover there were many other victims to keep her company, there was not any reason to think she would make a fool of herself again. There had been more humiliation than hurt when she had realized she was just another girl to him. Looking back she could see how very callow he had been, but at the same time, Harry had seemed manly and strong. It had taken a truly strong and self-assured man to make her see that, though.  
  
'Hermione, you simply have to come tonight,' Lavender insisted again in a pleading tone. 'Ron and I are counting on you.'  
  
Her gaze studied the cocker spaniel look of the pert brunette beside her as Hermione paused at the outer office door. In so many ways, she and Lavender were such opposites. Lavender, with her dark pixie curls, was slight, petitely built, bubbling with an outgoing personality while Hermione was statuesque and full-figured, her long amber hair coiled in a practical bun on the back of her neck. Her eyes were a warm brown but without that special sparkle of Lavender's. Her attitude was as friendly as her room-mate's, but quieter and less obtrusive. It was difficult for Hermione to meet strangers on a social basis, especially men. Lavender would enter into a project with madcap abandon while Hermione would efficiently organize each step.  
  
Instead of trying to find a way out of the blind date, Hermione knew she should be leaping at the opportunity to have a night out. Too many weekends she had spent alone lately. Still, it was difficult to force the words of agreement through her lips . She pushed open the door to her office and walked in, with Lavender on her heels.  
  
'You can't let us down,' Lavender repeated. 'We want to----'  
  
The rest of her sentence was lost as she caught sight of the man standing beside the open drawer of the filing cabinet. Lavender's face was immediately wreathed with a bright smile.  
  
'Good afternoon, Mr Malfoy.'  
  
But her cheery greeting didn't alter the rugged planes of his as he nodded curtly in Lavender's direction before his sharp blue gaze swung to Hermione. There was an aura of boundless energy and an unshakeable stamp unnerving and reassuring.  
  
'Miss Granger, will you please tell me where in this mess I might find the Statler file?' His fingers rake the silvery blonde mane of his hair before his hand returned to his hip in a challenging position.  
  
The criticism, completely unwarranted, raised Hermione's chin a fraction of an inch in defiance. She walked crisply to the metal cabinet where he was standing.  
  
'Perhaps, Mr Malfoy, if you would stay out of the files, they wouldn't be in such a mess.' She replied, and began reinserting the partially removed folders. 'In the first place, the Statler file wouldn't be in this drawer since this is strictly material suppliers.'  
  
With the drawer in reasonable order again, she closed it and pulled open the one beneath it, aware of the tall, broad-shouldered figure towering at her side. At the rear of the alphabetical index under 'S', her fingers fumbled through the folders, the smaller letters of the name tabs blurring before her eyes.  
  
'What's the matter, Miss Granger?' Her employer's wry voice sounded above her head. 'Can't you find it either?'  
  
'Yes, I can find it.' Hermione stiffly straightened and walked to her desk.  
  
Her tortoiseshell glasses of amber and brown were lying beside the telephone. She had often laughed that she could see a country mile, but not an inch in front of her nose. At this moment, she didn't find her dependence on glasses for reading at all humorous.  
  
'But I, unfortunately, can't read the name tabs without my glasses,' she stated as she slipped on the glasses and walked back to the cabinet.  
  
In the span of a few seconds, she was handing him the folders he had requested. The aquiline features were turned towards the folder so Draco Malfoy missed her prim smile of victory.  
  
'Some day, Miss Granger,' her employer spoke absently as he started towards his private office, 'you are going to have to draw me a set blue- print so I can find things in that metal monster of yours.'  
  
Her lips were pressed tightly together as the door to his connecting office closed behind him. His criticism had been uttered in a moment of exasperation and had not been meant as a slight to her ability. Still, the barbs did prick.  
  
'You amaze me sometimes, Hermione.' Lavender shook her head wryly.  
  
'Why?' Hermione walked around the desk to her chair and slipped her bag into the bottom of her desk.  
  
'Talking back to Mr Malfoy the way you just did. Imagine telling the boss to stay out of his own files!' she laughed. 'No wonder you two don't get along.'  
  
'Mr Malfoy and I get along very well,' Hermione said stiffly.  
  
'What I mean is you're hardly friendly. Everything is strictly business. For all the notice he pays you, you could be a fifty-year old grandmother. And you're just as bad. You act as if he's fifty instead of a very eligible bachelor.'  
  
'I'm his secretary, not his mistress.'  
  
'Well,' Lavender sighed, 'you'll never be his mistress if you keep calling him Mr Malfoy all the time.'  
  
'That's what you called him,' Hermione pointed out.  
  
'Yes, but look how seldom I see him. If I were his secretary, I sure would be making a play for him.'  
  
'And probably end up losing a well-paying job. Besides,' Hermione teased, slipping her glasses off, 'what would Ron think if he knew you had eyes for the president of the company?'  
  
'He would be jealous, wouldn't he?' Lavender giggled. 'But he knows I'm a big flirt.'  
  
'I sometimes think that's an understatement,' Hermione smiled ruefully.  
  
'Speaking of Ron, what about tonight?'  
  
The corners of her mouth turned abruptly down. 'I'll go,' she agreed with a resigned nod. 'But I won't entertain Ron's brother the entire weekend. It will only be for tonight.'  
  
'Thanks loads!' Lavender breathed. 'We're coming straight to the apartment from the airport. We ought to be there around seven-thirty, so be ready when we get there.'  
  
'I will.'  
  
The intercom buzzer sounded. 'Yes?' Hermione answered.  
  
'Will you come into my office, Miss Granger?' Draco Malfoy's voice responded.  
  
Lavender was halfway to the door to leave when she turned around to add a parting remark. 'And wear something sexy, too!'  
  
For a split second, Hermione could only stare at the button she had pushed, holding her breath in hopes that her room-mate's words had not been picked up by the intercom speaker.  
  
'I'll be right there, Mr Malfoy,' she murmured.  
  
Breaking off the connection, she slipped her glasses back on and gathered her pencil and paper. At the door to his office, she paused to straighten the tweed skirt of her tailored suit, and then walked in.  
  
The big leather chair swung around as she entered. The perusal of his gaze was very thorough as it swept over her. Hermione guessed what he was thinking, knowing how deceptive the severe hair-style and tortoiseshell glasses were. Draco Malfoy was undoubtly questioning her ability to appear sexy.  
  
Then a shutter closed, blanking out the gleam of speculation, and his look was no longer personal but strictly business, employer to employee. With an efficiency that matched Hermione's, he went through his schedule for the afternoon, handed her the cartridges from his Dictaphone containing the morning's dictation, and added a list of telephone calls he wanted her to make.  
  
The impersonal business level had been re-established. No reference was made to confirm or deny that he had overheard Lavender's comment. That swift appraisal of her when she had walked in the door might never have occurred.  
  
Yet at five o'clock, Hermione stepped into the doorway of his office to make certain there was nothing else he required her before she left for the weekend. His casual remark stripped the doubt that remained.  
  
'Are you going out this evening, Miss Granger?' Draco Malfoy inquired after assuring her there was nothing else he needed.  
  
'It's Friday,' she replied, trying to make it sound as if it was customary for her to have a date instead of a rarity.  
  
'Enjoy yourself.'  
  
There was no mockery in his statement, nor any teasing barb, but she took exception to his indifferent wish. 'I generally do, Mr Malfoy. Goodnight.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Dinner with Percy*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Hermione readily admitted that she had had developed a crush on her boss. Draco Malfoy was a dynamic individual. Rarely had Hermione ever seen him ruffled by anything. Whatever obstacle or crisis that occurred was met calmly and solved, or removed from his path. His strength and power were only hinted at, roused only when there was a need and not in anger. Secretly, Hermione had nourished some hopes that he might look at her as a woman, but it has always been business.  
  
After the dinner with Percy, Ron and Lavender, they decided to head for home. Only when they had risen from the table did Hermione notice the couple on the dance floor. The fragile blonde in a cloud of pink caught her eye first, being the epitome of everything dainty and feminine that Hermione had wanted to be. Then she notices the man holding her in his arms. It was Draco Malfoy, the masculine line of his mouth curved into a smile.  
  
Her stomach turned over with a sickening suddenness.  
  
At that moment the woman snuggled her head against his chest. Hermione watched his gaze sweep the room while he made some whispered comment to his partner. For a fraction of a second, his gaze lingered on her. She waited in breathless anticipation for his nod of recognition before his attention reverted to his partner.  
  
Her teeth bit into her lip as she realized that he hadn't recognize her! 


	2. What r we going to do?

Thankx to all those people who reviewed!!! Crystalline Lily FreshAngelicBabe luvs2party Draco'sGirl DazedPanda Hermione  
  
Outside her office window, flakes of snow were swirling in a light wind. The weekend promised to be white and Hermione began to daydream about her plans for the following day. She and Lavender were going shopping for the remainder of their Christmas gifts. She wondered if she should buy some small gifts for Percy, nothing expensive or personal, but a little something.  
  
The intercom buzzed commandingly. 'Miss Granger,' Draco Malfoy's voice sounded crisply over the speaker, 'bring me in those figures left with you on the Danville hospital.'  
  
'Yes sir,' Hermione responded promptly, flicking off the intercom switch as she rose from her desk.  
  
She was nearly to the filing cabinet when the buzz of the intercom called her back. 'Get Neville Longbottom in here. The figures on this hospital bid don't look right. I want to go over them with him before we submit it.' (Sorry, couldn't think of any other names!)  
  
An error was found and now every item was being double checked.  
  
'I doubt if they know what time it is. Bring me a sandwich,' Hermione asked Lavender when it was lunch-time.  
  
'I bet they haven't looked outside either,' Lavender smiled. It's turning into a regular blizzard. You'd better put a bird on the boss's shoulder so someone will tell him that he'd better let us go home early.' With a cheery wave, Lavender closed the door.  
  
The practical side of Hermione refused to leap to conclusions as she picked up the telephone and dialed the weather bureau. Heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions were forecast. Another phone call confirmed that some of the side streets were becoming impassable and the city government was recommending that business should be closed early.  
  
Rapping once on the inner office, Hermione entered the private office. Draco Malfoy was bent over his desk, his gray suit coat thrown across a side chair, his tie loosened. The top buttons of his white shirt were unbuttoned and the cuffs of his long sleeves were rolled back. The fingers of one hand continued their race over the keys of the portable calculator while he ambidextrously entered the results with his left hand.  
  
'What is it, Miss Granger?' the blonde head didn't look up as he made his inquiry.  
  
'I'm afraid we're in the middle of a blizzard, sir. They're recommending that all non-essential business close,' Hermione replied.  
  
Neville Longbottom was sitting at the small draughting table in front of the window. His head rose at Hermione's words to look outside.  
  
'Fuck!' he exclaimed as he stared at the snow-storm beyond the window panes. Immediately, he glanced at Hermione. 'Sorry. I forgot there was a lady around,' he apologized then sighed heavily. 'It's a first-class snow- storm, Draco. Hope this isn't a sign of what the rest of the winter is going to be like.  
  
Draco Malfoy swiveled his chair to confirm their statements for himself. The strong fingers of one hand rubbed his chin and mouth as Draco turned towards her. The blue of his eyes was intensified by the thickness of his silver lashes and the remains of his summer tan, otherwise pale skin.  
  
'Send everyone home, Miss Granger.' He ordered. 'We should be finished in about an hour or so.'  
  
'Right away,' she nodded, and turned to leave.  
  
'Miss Granger,' he called her back. One corner of his mouth was lifted in a rueful apology. 'I'm afraid that I need you to retype this bid when we're done and supply me with folders from that puzzle cabinet of yours.'  
  
'You go home by bus, don't you?' Draco asked.  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Don't worry about getting home. I'll give you a lift when we are through,' he stated and leaned forward to resume his work.  
  
Hermione nodded her thanks and left the room.  
  
The building emptied quickly. At one thirty, Draco sent Neville Longbottom home. It was going on three o'clock when Hermione finished her typing.  
  
Draco affixed his signature and slipped it into an envelope.  
  
'Its worse isn't it?' she murmured as she saw Draco staring out of the window.  
  
Over his shoulder, he saw her tie her scarf around her neck and gave no response to her question.  
  
Walking swiftly, they covered the distance of the corridors from his private office to the front door. The blast of the wind nearly knocked Hermione off her feet as they stepped outside. His arm circled around her waist in support and guided her in the direction of the parking lot. Visibility had been reduced by the driving snow to about a few feet and Hermione knew Draco was guiding her to his car on instincts alone.  
  
'This is ridiculous!' he snapped suddenly, and stopped.  
  
In the span of a few seconds, he had turned her around and was leading her back to the building. Her teeth were already chattering from the sub-zero temperature when the door closed behind them. Almost unwillingly, she met his penetrating gaze.  
  
'We're better off staying here' he said. 'At least taking the risk of being stranded in the car'.  
  
'Excuse me while I call my room-mate so that she won't be worried'.  
  
Hermione could feel his gaze on her as she walked down the corridor. Why can't her boss be married, paunchy or even balding instead of being so compellingly magnetic?  
  
'Hermione, where are you?' Lavender demanded frantically. 'I'm at work' she answered. 'Isn't the boss going to bring you back home?' 'In this blizzard? We'd end up in a snowdrift!' 'Do you mean.... That the two of you are stranded there at the office.. alone?' 'Oh Lavender! Will you please not dramatize the situation?' 'It just the two of you there, isn't it?' Laughter could be heard at the other line. 'Thrown together by the elements!' 'Will you stop it?' Hermione demanded. 'Mr Malfoy is my boss!' 'I bet you won't be calling him Mr Malfoy by tomorrow morning!' 'For heaven's sake! For all the notice that Mr Malfoy pays to me, I doubt he's even aware that I'm the opposite sex. I'm his efficient and practical secretary. Having my company forced on him for a day isn't going to make him notice that I'm an alluring female.' 'I'll be home as soon as the roads are cleared'.  
  
Without waiting for a response, Hermione hung up. Tension pulled down the corners of her mouth as she turned in her chair. Her downcast eyes caught sight of gray trousers standing in front of her desk, and waves of crimson red swept into her face as she looked into Draco Malfoy's amused face and realized he had been listening. A muscle twitched near his mouth as if concealing a smile.  
  
'It's comforting to discover you are human, Miss Granger' he said quietly and walked into his office. 


End file.
